JW policy on Girl Guides and Scouts? (page 2)

looloo

hb they made me take out my daughter from rainbows , and she loved it there , i was only a study i have sent you a message

blondie

There is a patriotic angle to Girl Scouts (probably Guides too).

http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/ceremonies/flag.asp

Flag Ceremonies
Honoring the American Flag

A flag ceremony is a way of showing love and respect for one's country. Flag ceremonies may be used for:

Opening or closing meetings
Opening or closing special events
Beginning or closing a day
Honoring a special occasion or special person
Retiring a worn flag

Flag ceremonies may take place in meeting rooms, in outdoor settings, in large auditoriums, on stage, even on horseback. All flag ceremonies share one thing in common—respect for the flag.

Flag Ceremony Guidelines

Keep it simple. Emphasis should be on respect for the flag rather than on the commands or techniques. Ask these questions when planning:

Who will carry the flag?
Who will be the color guards?
Who will give the directions for the ceremony?
What song will be sung? Who will sound the pitch and start the song?
Will a poem or quotation be included? Who will say or read it?
After the Pledge of Allegiance, will the Promise and the Law be said?
In what order will the parts of the ceremony take place?
When will the group practice?
Where will the flags be placed at the end of the ceremony?

Terms Used in a Flag Ceremony

The color bearer (or flag bearer) is the person who carries the flag. There is one color bearer for each flag used in the ceremony.

The color guard is a team that guards the flags. Any even number of guards may be used, but usually four or six girls are sufficient.

The Girl Scout in-charge (or caller) is a designated Girl Scout who announces or calls each part of the ceremony.

Possible Commands for a Flag Ceremony

"Girl Scouts, attention." Used to announce that the flag ceremony is to begin.

"Color guard advance." This signals the color guard to advance with the flags, or advance to pick up the flags.

"Color Guard, post the colors." This directs the color guard to place the flag in flag standards, or to attach the grommets to a flag pole rope.
"Color guard, honor your flag." The color guard salutes the American flag.
"Please join us in saying the Pledge of Allegiance." (Followed by an appropriate song, quotation or poem, if so desired.)
OR
"Color guard, honor your flag." The color guard salutes the American flag.
"Color guard, retire the colors." This asks the color guard to remove the flag from standards, or to lower the flag, detach from the rope, and fold prior to being dismissed.

"Color guard, dismissed." The color guard leaves in formation, with or without the flag.

"Girl Scouts dismissed." Girls may leave in formation or be at ease where they have been standing.

I will say this though, I know of many jws that buy their cookies, including elders and their wives. They don't advertise it much. Other jws are scrupulous about not buying. It is all what they can hide from other jws.

Blondie

bite me

They're just cookies! Why do they make a big deal other wise. Sure you're helping the girl scouts out, but you get a nice box of cookes too. I'm going to buy cookies next time and mail them to my JW's neighbors. lol

besty

Best bet is to phone the UK Head Office on 020 8906 2211 and ask them.

Make sure to ask the name of the person you are speaking to ;-)

HB

Thank you once again for all the helpful and interesting replies.

I have no idea what a boasting session is in terms of Jehovah's Witnesses; it sounds a bit ungodly, but presumably it's not an occasion where everyone gets to tell everyone else how brilliant they are or how much their car cost etc!

My friend asked her Elders about being a Brownie Leader and was told she could not be a member of GirlguidingUK. They did not completely ban her from helping but she must not be a member.

There is the possibility that she can be a non-member Unit Helper, which is what last week she thought she would do, but I'm not sure whether it is just her interpretation that this would be ok or whether the Elders specifically said this.

She was obviously very disappointed as she has nearly finished her Leadership Qualification, and to my surprise, tonight she chose to attend a training session tonight which is a requirement of this qualification. So she is obviously reluctant to give up being a warranted leader and wearing her uniform after all the effort she has put in.

We discussed things after the training and I said what a shame it would be if she was not able to finish the Qualification, as she only has one more thing to do before she would be awarded her Leader's warrant. When I mentioned that when applying for jobs it's very useful to put on a CV (resume) that you are a Guider that made her think. I pointed out that employers are keen to take on people with leadership skills and impressed by community volunteering. She is currently out of work and finding it difficult to even get an interview as she has been honest on application forms and mentioned she has suffered with depression.

So this tipped the balance and although she is not considering leaving the JW church she has decided to ignore the Elders and finish the Qualification to get her warrant. She will just not mention it to anyone in the congregation. She does not personally see a problem with helping the Brownies as she will only be an Assistant Leader and can just miss out on the few occasions when there is a conflict.

So this is good news for me.

I hope it is the case that if the Elders find out, they will not want to put strong pressure on her at this stage to conform to their doctrines as they might lose her from their congregation altogether. For her part my friend assumes the Watchtower Society is a benign, loving organisation and that she will always have freedom to choose her own level of commitment which I see from this site will probably not be the case in future.

I suppose it wil only be a matter of time, but for now things are not going too badly.

Here in the UK patriotism and nationalism is not so strong as in the USA, but there is discussion of bringing in a new law which will require all foreign immigrants who are applying for citizenship and also all school leavers (16 year olds) to attend a ceremony where they pledge loyalty to the Queen and country. If it ever becomes law, that will not be popular with the JWs but presumably the will apply for exemption.

I have two questions relating to this issue:

1. Do JWs accept state pensions and social security payments and benefits? If so how can they reconcile that in their conscience with their anti-patriotic stance?

2. I gather that JWs do not vote. Theoretically, if a political party proposed in their election manifesto to ban belongong to the JW faith, would JW members then vote in the election to keep that party out of power?

Regards,

Heather

BloominMarvellous

As the Subject of this post, Im not suprised at the replies that Heather got from some of you!

The elders said it would be fine for me to be a unit helper, then it wasnt acceptable if I wanted to serve Jehovah properly.

I left Brownies in the July of 2008 only 4months after this post was made. I became an unbaptised publisher in Feb 09 and was taken off in May09 for some 'serious' sins????? (Considering im only young a few drinks and sex is not serious!)

I went Back to Brownies in JUne 09 and am throughly enjoyed being back and working towards being a leader again.

Thankfully Im not completely screwed up but still have a kind of emotional connection to them that makes me want to go back and also im still suffering with JW guilt. Im being shunned by some of the members but have a few that will say Hello in the street.

Cheers Bloomin x

AudeSapere

Hi Bloomin -

I remember reading this post last year and thought I had already posted on it. When my parents started 'studying', I was a girl scout (after 2 years as a Brownie). I really enjoyed the group and was so sad to be forced to leave. My dad was fast-tracking to becoming an elder and us kids had to march in step to the theocratic beat.

I think you did the right thing. Tested the waters. Gave the WT a little time to show their true mission - They are *not* the 'truth' - and then go back to an organization that allows you to give and get.

On a religious quest, there are many other venues that you can explore, if you still have a desire to join a formal (or informal) church.

Welcome to JWN. I don't think I've said it to you before.

-Aude Sapere (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself)

mrsjones5

Wow, that was you? Nice to see you on the board now. My daughter was a Girlscout from 2003 to this year.

Josie

the research lady

Tell your friend to do what she wants. Try to convince her that if she continues to study with the Witnesses she will be told a lot of things not to get involved in that are not even mentioned in the Bible. One example is the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to join the YMCA or the YWCA even if it is only to use the pool. However, when I was baptised many years ago, I was baptised in the swimming pool at the YMCA! That is only one example of the double standards the Watchtower org. practices. Tell her to check out some websites too. Here's ours. www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com Don't let the music scare you, the young people love it.

JW policy on Girl Guides and Scouts?

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